ALEXANDER III POLITICAL AUTHORITY Flashcards
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
1881 the reign of Alexander III was characterised by reaction (policies that restore the past).
A CHANGE OF DIRECTION
4
- Tutored by Konstantin Pobedonostev brought up with a very strong sense of commitment and believed he alone could decide what is right for the country.
- Reign began with the public hanging of the conspirators involved in alexander II’s death.
- Issued the 1881 manifesto of unshakeable autocracy.
- Issued a law of exceptional measures if necessary, a commander in chief could be appointed to take control of a locality using military police courts and imprisonment.
3 Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
Pobedonostev: Became very close to alexander III and was nicknamed the ‘black tsar’.
Probably wrote alexander’s ascension manifesto.
Over-procurator of the holy synod from 1880 – spoke out for nationalism and antisemitism.
Tutored Nicholas II.
The Loris-Melikov proposals were abandoned
reforming ministers including Milyutin resigned.
Alexander III relied heavily on conservatives
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
CHANGES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
1889, 1890, 1892
- 1889 land captains created – had power to override zemtsva decisions, were made responsible for law enforcement and government in the countryside (could ignore normal judicial process).
- 1890 changed election arrangements for the zemtsva to reduce peasants vote, placed it under central government control – channelled its efforts away from political discussions toward social services e.g. education, health, and local transport projects.
- 1892 electorate in towns reduced to the owners of property above a certain value and members of town councils became state employees, subject to central government direction.
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
CHANGES IN EDUCATION
- 1884 university charter made appointments of deans and professors subject to the approval of the Education ministry based on religious and patriotic orientation rather than academic grounds.
- Universities closed for women and university courts abolished.
- Students forbidden to gather in groups more than 5.
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
- Children from lowest classes restricted to primary education – placed in the hands of the orthodox church.
impact
- Only 21% of the population was literate by 1887.
- These policies ran counter to the government’s policy of economic modernisation and failed to prevent students from involving in illegal political movements.
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
CHANGES IN POLICING
* Department of police (inc. Okhrana) led by von Phleve between 1881-84.
- Number of police increased new branches of criminal investigation department set up.
- Drive to recruit spies, counter spies, and agents provocateurs (posed as revolutionaries in order to incriminate others).
- The Okhrana intercepted and read mail, checked up on activities in factories, universities and armies, detaining suspects.
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
- 1882 Statute on police surveillance
any area of the empire can be deemed an area of subversion and police agents could search, detain, and exile any who committed and was suspected of committing a crime.
* Arrested people had no right to legal representation police had tremendous power over their lives.
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
CHANGES IN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
* Judicial reforms of alexander II partially reversed:
1885. 1887, 1889
- 1885 decree provided for the Minister of Justice to exercise greater control (dismiss judges)
- 1887 ministry granted power to hold closed court sessions (trial held in secret, no observers of reporters allowed)
- 1889 responsible for the appointment of town judges and volosts placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Land Captains and judges.
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
CHANGES IN CENSORSHIP
* 1882 Tolstoy establishes government committee that established temporary regulations
– allowed newspapers to be closed down and a life ban placed on editors and publishers.
* Censors became more active – all literary publications had to be officially approved and libraries were restricted in the books they were allowed to stock.
* Censorship extended to art, theatre, and culture where russification was enforced.
3 . Government and Tsars: Alexander III as ruler
EXTENT AND IMPACT OF COUNTER-REFORM
* Not all of alexander IIs reforms disappeared and there was some positive change:
1881, 1885, 1883
- 1881 law reduced redemption fees and cancelled the arrears of ex-serfs in 37 provinces.
- 1885 poll tax abolished and shifted the burden away from lowest classes.
- Right to appeal to higher courts.
- 1883 establishment of the peasants’ land bank.
4 . Political authority in action: Russification;
THE PROBLEM POSED BY ETHNIC MINORITIES
1/3 of the population was a mixture of many different nationalities e.g. Lutheran Germans, catholic poles, jews, Ukrainians, Georgians etc.
This diverse empire posed a challenge for the tsarist autocracy
development of national ideology in the 19th century provoked ethnic groups to assert their identities.
4 . Political authority in action: Russification;
ALEXANDER II AND THE ETHNIC MINORITIES
* He was more concerned with control than racial superiority.
- Increased reaction towards the end of his reign saw intolerance of national differences on the part of his ministers prohibition on the use of Ukrainian in publications / performances 1876.
- 1863 polish rebellion sent his brother to deal with the 200,000+ Poles that waged a form of guerrilla warfare.
- Crushed in 1864.
- Alexander II didn’t engage in persecution of racial minorities used concessions (granting requests in response to demands) as a means of keeping control.
- 1864, 1875 Latvians and Estonians allowed to revert to Lutheranism.
- Allowed Finns to have their own parliament – diet – and maintained good relations with them.
4 . Political authority in action: Russification;
RUSSIFICATION UNDER ALEXANDER III
* Himself and his ministers esp. Pobedonostev engaged in a policy of cultural russification sought to merge all of the tsar’s subjects into a single nation:
political
- 1892 diet reorganised in Finland to weaken its political influence and use of Russian language demanded, Russian coinage replaced national currency.
- 1885 polish national bank closed, and teaching of all subjects had to be in Russian except polish language in schools.
- Administration of Poland changed to curb any independence.
- Loyal Baltic Germans who enjoyed special protection of alexander III’s predecessors were subject to aggressive russification 1885-9 Russian enforced in state offices, schools, and the judicial system – even German university Dorper became russified and became Iurev university.
- Russification extended to Georgia and Ukraine 1883 laws limited the use of Ukrainian and all theatres closed in 1884.
- Uprisings of ethnic people supressed in Georgia (1892), Fergana and Armenia (1886) and Tashkent (1892).
4 . Political authority in action: Russification;
- Adherence to Russian orthodox church everywhere
- Baltic region: 37,000 Baltic Lutherans converted to orthodoxy to take advantage of the special measures of support.
- Poland: catholic monasteries closed down and incentives provided for non-Catholics to settle in the area.
- Mass conversions and baptisms of heaths and Muslims.
- 1883 members of non-orthodox churches not allowed to build new places of worship, wear religious dressing, and spread any religious propaganda.
- Any attempt to convert a member of the orthodox church was punishable by exile to Siberia.
